John Cena loses final match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event
In his last ever professional wrestling match, John Cena gave up.
At Saturday Night’s Main Event, Cena did something that he’s done only a few times in his career: submit. The 17-time former champion attempted to fight out of Gunther’s rear naked choke, and was initially successful. Gunther ended up trapping Cena again and unable to continue further, Cena tapped out as the crowd booed at the result.
After the match, the entire WWE roster surrounded the ring, headed by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The crowd, which did not like the ending, booed Triple H as Cody Rhodes and CM Punk entered the ring. They handed Cena their WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship titles as he posed with them. Triple H, again booed by the crowd, then appeared on the apron and pointed to a screen as a video played highlighting Cena’s life and career.
Once the video ended, Cena took off his sneakers and wrist bands and laid them in the ring, signifying the end of his career. He then made his exit, stopping on the ramp to give his trademark salute one last time.
“It’s been a pleasure serving you all these years. Thank you,” he said before making his way backstage.
Cena announced last year that he would embark on his retirement tour in 2025, culminating in December. Many twists and turns went down along the way, the most notable being a botched heel turn that took place at Elimination Chamber and breaking WWE’s record of 17 world title wins by beating Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. Cena lost the title and became a babyface once more at SummerSlam, and would hold the Intercontinental title briefly before losing it back to Dominik Mysterio at Survivor Series.
Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.